Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Johanna Baxter and Rachel Reeves(1 week, 2 days ago)
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Johanna Baxter (Paisley and Renfrewshire South) (Lab)
Many thousands of my constituents in Paisley and Renfrewshire South work in and rely on public services that are on their knees after 18 years of under-investment by the SNP Government at Holyrood. Will my right hon. Friend set out how the views of my constituents will be reflected in the spending review?
Rachel Reeves
Because of the decisions that we made in the Budget last year, we were able to provide a record settlement for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It is a shame that the SNP MPs are not in the Chamber today. It is now the SNP’s responsibility to spend that money wisely and invest in public services. We are bringing down NHS waiting lists in England and Wales; the same cannot be said of Scotland.
Spring Statement
Debate between Johanna Baxter and Rachel Reeves(3 weeks, 1 day ago)
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Rachel Reeves
I thank the right hon. Gentleman for that question. He speaks powerfully about something that he knows a huge amount about. Let me answer three parts of that question. First, the OBR has revised up our productivity in its forecast. Secondly, we have a massive problem with young people not in education, employment or training—it involves one in eight young people. However, as I said in answer to a previous question, the OBR has not taken into account the impact of our back to work programme. It will work on that over the summer with the DWP and the Treasury, because we want to make sure that we design that in a way that gets as many young people back into work, contributing to the economy and contributing to our society.
We were able to announce, just a couple of weeks ago in National Apprenticeship Week, an expansion of the apprenticeship programme, particularly through foundation apprenticeships and by relaxing some of the maths and English requirements. If we want to build the homes that our country needs, we need to get people into construction jobs and not say, “I’m sorry, you didn’t get a grade C in maths and English, so you’re not welcome on the construction site.” That makes no sense at all, which is why we are reforming how apprenticeship works, to get more people with the skills they need so that they can contribute to their families and the economy. We want those numbers going up.
Johanna Baxter (Paisley and Renfrewshire South) (Lab)
Our fiscal rules were designed to ensure that we did not repeat the damaging austerity of the Conservative party, which harmed my constituents so much. Does my right hon. Friend agree that it is only because of those fiscal rules that the OBR has today confirmed that people in Paisley and Renfrewshire South will be, on average, £500 a year better off with this Labour Government?
Rachel Reeves
To ensure that people are better off, we need to control inflation, which is why stability is so important; bring interest rates down, and the Bank of England has had the confidence to cut interest rates three times since the election; and boost wages, which we are beginning to see, with real wages growing at twice the rate of inflation. That benefits my hon. Friend’s constituents and people up and down the country. That is why we welcome the fact that, today, the OBR has revised up real household disposable income per person by £500.
Public Spending: Inheritance
Debate between Johanna Baxter and Rachel Reeves(8 months, 2 weeks ago)
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Rachel Reeves
I think the hon. Lady for that question. There are a couple of things we are committed to do. First, pension credit and housing benefit are due to be amalgamated. The previous Government put that back; we will bring that forward. We know that take-up of pension credit will increase when it is merged with housing benefit. That will make an impact in ensuring that people get the money they are entitled to. However, we have also committed, as elderly people’s charities have asked, to central Government working with local government to better identify people who are entitled to pension credit, but are not claiming it today. We want to make sure that everyone who is entitled to pension credit gets it, and with it the associated winter fuel payment.
Johanna Baxter (Paisley and Renfrewshire South) (Lab)
Does my right hon. Friend agree that one of the key failures of the Conservative Government over the past 14 years was their failure to grow the economy, and that that lack of growth meant they simply did not have the money to do the things that they none the less committed to voters in this country to do? That is why we should take no lessons on trust and credibility from the Conservative party.
Rachel Reeves
If our economy had grown at just the average rate for OECD economies over the past 14 years, it would today be worth £140 billion more. That would have been worth £5,000 for every family in Britain and would have meant an additional £58 billion for our public services, without increasing tax by a single penny. That shows how important economic growth is, which is why getting our economy growing is the No. 1 mission of this Government.